Tooth Pain when drinking alcohol

[MacVittie]

I'm not sure if this is a better question for Dr. Steve or Dr. Joe K., but I'll just put it out there. I broke my front left tooth (#9) almost completely off when I was 10 years old (about 1993). I had it bonded, and everything was ok for the time. Then in 2000, it got really swollen and painful and I had a root canal. Everything was ok until this summer, when I noticed a swollen bump over that tooth along with a throbbing pain in my gum when I consumed alcohol. It didn't matter if it was beer, wine, or liquor, a few drinks would make my gum hurt. It turns out that the root was cracked, the tooth has since been extracted and I'll be wearing a flipper for the next few months until the healing is all through and they can put in an implant and a crown on that.

My question is, what is it about alcohol that would irritate and gum infection? I'm not a cola drinker, but sugary drinks like Snapple didn't irritate it. Hold or cold liquids weren't irritating it either, but two beers would leave me in pain. I always thought that alcohol was good for disinfecting an infection.

[Dr Steve]

I'm not sure if this is a better question for Dr. Steve or Dr. Joe K., but I'll just put it out there. I broke my front left tooth (#9) almost completely off when I was 10 years old (about 1993). I had it bonded, and everything was ok for the time. Then in 2000, it got really swollen and painful and I had a root canal. Everything was ok until this summer, when I noticed a swollen bump over that tooth along with a throbbing pain in my gum when I consumed alcohol. It didn't matter if it was beer, wine, or liquor, a few drinks would make my gum hurt. It turns out that the root was cracked, the tooth has since been extracted and I'll be wearing a flipper for the next few months until the healing is all through and they can put in an implant and a crown on that.

My question is, what is it about alcohol that would irritate and gum infection? I'm not a cola drinker, but sugary drinks like Snapple didn't irritate it. Hold or cold liquids weren't irritating it either, but two beers would leave me in pain. I always thought that alcohol was good for disinfecting an infection.

I'm going to page Dr Joe on this one, but I'm just guessing that alcohol is pretty toxic to nerve endings, and that's the cause of your pain. Alcohol is indeed good for killing bacteria, but it's hell on nerve bodies.

<PAGING DR JOE>

[drjoek]

Thats a real head scratcher for me!
i can think of nothing about drinking alcohol that would exacerbate a dental or periodontal problem. the only thing I can come up with is the dyhydrating effects of alcohol may have caused something to be altered but thats about it.
I'll do a little research but Im kinda stumped.

[MacVittie]

I'll see if I can be more specific. The pain wasn't exactly on the tooth itself, it was located on the gum area, and it wasn't a sharp piercing pain, it was a throbbing pain accompanied by swelling of the area. My oral surgeon suspected that maybe the carbonation in beer was contributing to it. The pain wasn't immediate, so I'm inclined to believe that it wasn't coming from the alcohol coming in contact with the infection but from alcohol in my bloodstream irritating the infection. Every dentist I've spoken to hasn't come up with a concrete answer for this.

[jknight420]

I have the exact same problem, and is the exact same amount of beer only 3.5 cans and my gums around my back left top molar develop a throbbing pain. It seems to be only beer as I tried drinking the same amount and more of mixed drinks without the pain occurring. Dentist thinks I might need a root canal but I am trying antibiotics first. If anyone has a clue as to why this happens I am all ears

[razorboy]

Then why did my Mom rub whiskey on my gums when I was teething?

[biozombie]

Then why did my Mom rub whiskey on my gums when I was teething?

To help you forget.

[nixonfingers]

If you pour rubbing alcohol on a cut does it sting? May be a clue.

[jfrade]

Sometimes when I have a few beers, I will get a major swelling and throbbing in my back teeth that may last for a week. No one has ever been able to tell me why and it seems I'm not the only one.

[jlehane]

Lets say like a loose wire,you might not get a spark until the two wires touch infrequently,being jolted or shifted.Likewise alchy being a cleaning agent sparks those nerves a little hotter by knocking out"plaques" or impediments to the damaged nerve firing/short circuit.So your stupid alchy cleans the tubes to your nerves and you get a tingle again.Otherwise you get the switch turned off(you say thankfully,thinking all is SWELL).If the pain goes away but the problem doesn't...like you take the battery out of your smoke alarm.Problem is solved,lets drink again.OW BOO-BOO OW BOO-BOO.Beer Slut Syndrome.Get the surgery,because it didn't fix itself with beer.:wacko::nono: Beer Beeer Beeeer Beeeeer :wallbash: Beeeeeer Beeeeeeeeeer :wallbash: :wallbash: Head Huuuuuuuuuuurts Tooth :wallbash: Truth Ache needs surgery so:wallbash: Beeer Beeer Beeeeeer http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/jlehane3/Marsaliencrv7.jpg Mars Tiny species male and female hooded protection Spirit rover approx2004 :blink:

[Chigworthy]

Sometimes when I have a few beers, I will get a major swelling and throbbing in my back teeth that may last for a week. No one has ever been able to tell me why and it seems I'm not the only one.

If you drink the beers out of a knockoff chanel handbag, does the pain go away? If so, do you know where I could get a nice cheap sports jersey and dash of overseas credit card fraud?

[Pitdoc]

Have you considered not drinking alcohol?
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Whoa....Forgot where I was for a minute there...

[jonyrotn]

The pain wasn't exactly on the tooth itself, it was located on the gum area, and it wasn't a sharp piercing pain, it was a throbbing pain accompanied by swelling of the area. Every dentist I've spoken to hasn't come up with a concrete answer for this.
That's probably just your liver trying to hide from your drunk ass..I found mine hiding in my condom/soy packet sauce drawer once in the college..They can be very elusive if they even think you're trying to Kill or even just pickle them..All you really have to do is give it some story about how you're now gonna switch to smoking or even shootin' up meth and Speed balls, and from this day forth you'll now ONLY be trying to explode your heart...Not everybody realizes that for the most part, human organs are very gullible and just wanna here that it was a different organ you were really after and that he/she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time...It's been my experience that they'll buy that shit almost every time...SUCKAS!!
I do hope this information was helpful and if you ever have any question about missing fingers or a misplaced pamcreas, I can probably help you find them too..And don't worry, You can thank me later..

[jzmi13]

Dr.steve i have heard you talk of a good colon cleaness product in the past on O & A. but I can not remember the name. Could you tell a name for a good product to use. Thank you